NU Online News Service, Dec. 13, 3:57 p.m. EDT

Major insurance brokers are stepping up their game, delivering better service to their customers in a bad economy and surpassing the satisfaction rating of others who in the past would have been considered service leaders.

In its 2010 broker service quality survey, Greenwich Associates received 9,000 middle market company responses to its survey measuring broker and insurance company quality of service.

The Stamford, Conn.-based research and consulting firm said the top five insurance brokers received higher scores than in the past in its annual Corporate Insurance Research Study.

In 2009, the top five brokers received quality ratings of "excellent" or "very good" from 47 percent of middle market companies. In 2010, that figure jumped to 53 percent.

The top five brokers, in alphabetical order were:

o Aon Corp.

o BB&T Insurance Services

o Marsh & McLennan Companies

(MMC)

o Willis Group

o Wells Fargo Insurance Services

Of this group, Wells Fargo Insurance and Willis Group received the top Greenwich Excellence National award honor. More than 300 brokers were evaluated in the survey.

"Over the past 12 months the quality scores required to earn an excellence award increased by more than 10 percent," said David Fox, Greenwich Associates consultant in a statement. "What this shows is that two brokers--Wells Fargo Insurance Services and Willis Group--have responded to these new marketplace demands with meaningful improvements to service quality at a national level, and several firms have done so at a regional level. Brokers that stood still--even those who in past years would have won awards with their current quality scores--are losing ground relative to these leaders."

In an interview, Brett McNeice, client associate, insurance practice for Greenwich Associates, noted that the survey is not an indicator of insurance brokers doing a poorer job of service to their client, but reflects how much the top brokers have done to improve their scores.

The award also recognized regional brokers. Among them:

o Northeast region winners: Brown & Brown Inc., Marsh & McLennan and Willis Group.

o South region winners: Arthur J. Gallagher, BB&T Insurance Services, Brown & Brown Inc., Wells Fargo Insurance Services, and Willis Group.

o Midwest region winners: Aon, MMC, Wells Fargo Insurance, and Willis.

o West region winners: Aon and Wells Fargo Insurance.

Greenwich also surveyed insurance carriers, which it noted are "being pushed by price-sensitive clients to reduce rates or upgrade quality to top-notch levels in order to justify existing rate schedules."

Mr. McNeice noted that client expectation has become more rigorous and some carriers "have responded accordingly."

The carrier winners, from 300 carriers evaluated, for National Middle Market Insurance are:

o Chubb Corp.

o Liberty Mutual

o Zurich Financial Services

The 2010 regional winners are:

o Northeast: Chubb Corp., CNA Financial Corp., Liberty Mutual and Zurich Financial Services

o Midwest: Chubb, Cincinnati Financial, Liberty Mutual and Zurich

o South: Chubb, Liberty Mutual, The Hartford Insurance Co., Travelers Insurance Co., Zurich.

o West: Chubb, Liberty Mutual, The Hartford, Travelers, and Zurich.

Special Reports /

Major Brokers Score Big In Middle Market Survey

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